Bali Visa & Entry Requirements 2026: Full Step-by-Step Guide

Bali Visa and Entry Requirements 2026: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Short answer: most nationalities do not need to arrange a visa in advance, but there are four separate things to do before you fly — your visa or visa-free eligibility, the Bali tourist levy, the All Indonesia arrival card, and your passport check. Only the first depends on your nationality; the other three apply to every visitor. Potato Bali Tours can walk you through the order before you book.

They are:

Your visa or visa-free eligibility — whether you can just arrive, or need a visa on arrival.
The Bali tourist levy — a one-time per-person charge for Bali, paid online.
The All Indonesia arrival card — an online customs and immigration declaration, filled in before you land.
Your passport check — validity, blank pages, and an onward ticket.

People get these mixed up constantly, and the result is a queue at the airport desk on landing day. Work through them in order and Bali is completely painless.

Step 1: Check whether you need a visa at all

Indonesia runs three entry routes for short-stay visitors, and which one applies to you depends on your nationality, not on where you are flying from.

Your nationality	What applies	Length of stay
Visa-free (most ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China, India, UK, EU/EEA, Switzerland and others)	No visa needed — just arrive	30 days
Visa on arrival eligible	Buy the VOA online in advance, or pay at the airport on arrival	30 days, extendable once for another 30
Not eligible for either	Apply for an e-Visa through the official portal before you travel	Per the visa issued

Roughly 70 nationalities qualify for visa-free entry and about 60 more are eligible for a visa on arrival — that includes the United States, Canada, and most European countries. If your passport is on neither list, the only route is an e-Visa arranged before you fly.

The full current lists are published by Indonesian Immigration: the visa-free and VOA information is on the Indonesian Embassy consular page, and the e-Visa portal is at evisa.imigrasi.go.id.

The single rule that disqualifies more people than any other

Your passport must be valid for at least six months from the date you arrive — not from the date you fly, not from the date you leave. A passport with five months left is refused, and it is not a judgement call at the desk.

You also need:

A return or onward ticket. A one-way ticket without a reason to leave is a common refusal.
Proof of accommodation — a hotel booking, a villa confirmation, or even a friend's address.
Proof of sufficient funds for your stay. Immigration can ask, and it is more often asked at Bali than in other parts of Indonesia.
Two blank pages in the passport. Indonesian immigration stamps you on arrival and departure.

If you are eligible for a visa on arrival: do it online

You can buy the VOA in advance at the official e-Visa portal, and you should, for one reason: it removes the queue, and on a busy arrival day the difference between walking straight through and standing in the immigration hall for an hour is real.

Doing it online takes a few minutes and needs:

A photo of the passport biodata page (JPG, JPEG or PNG)
A passport photo
Your return or onward ticket
The email address you will use, and a payment method

If you cannot do it online, the same visa is available on arrival at the designated entry points — which is what the second term in "visa on arrival" means. The downside of paying at the airport is not the price, it is the wait, and it is entirely avoidable.

Step 2: Pay the Bali tourist levy

This is the one most people discover at the airport, and it is separate from the visa.

Every international visitor to Bali pays a one-time per-person levy — paid once per visit, not per day, and the same whether you stay three days or three weeks. The current amount and the payment link are published on the official provincial portal: lovebali.baliprov.go.id.

Pay it online before you fly. The payment generates a QR code voucher that you present on arrival, and doing it in advance means the levy is simply scanned and done.

One payment per person, not per booking and not per night.
Children are charged too — it is a per-person levy, not a per-adult one.
You keep the QR code for the duration of your visit, and it is what you show if asked again.

Who does not pay: residents and holders of Indonesian residence permits (KITAS or ITAP). Foreigners on a KITAS are exempt — everyone else, including visitors on a visa on arrival, pays.

There is also an official FAQ in English on the same portal, which is worth five minutes before you fly: Love Bali FAQ.

Step 3: Fill in the All Indonesia arrival card

Since 2025, Indonesia has required all arriving travellers to submit an electronic arrival declaration online before landing. It covers immigration, customs and health declarations in one form, and it replaces the paper forms you used to fill in at the desk.

You submit it at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id, and you receive a QR code by email.

Fill it in before you board, not in the airport Wi-Fi queue. The form needs your flight details and your accommodation address, both of which you should already have, and completing it on a plane or on slow airport internet is how people end up missing their connection or standing at the wrong counter.

The part everybody mixes up

The arrival card QR and the tourist levy QR are two different systems. They come from two different portals, they have two different QR codes, and you need both.

What	Portal	What you get
Bali tourist levy	lovebali.baliprov.go.id	A levy voucher QR code
All Indonesia arrival card	allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id	An arrival declaration QR code
Visa on arrival	evisa.imigrasi.go.id	A VOA confirmation, if you bought it in advance

Step 4: At the airport

The order at arrivals is the same every time:

Immigration. Show your passport, your VOA confirmation (if you have one), the arrival card QR and the levy voucher QR. Get stamped.
Customs. Walk through the green channel unless you have something to declare. The All Indonesia card covers the declaration, but it does not remove the walk.
Baggage and exit.

Nothing in Bali requires a paper arrival card any more. If you are being asked for one at the desk, it is usually because the arrival card was never completed — that is the one thing worth double-checking before you fly.

The full checklist, in order

Print this or screenshot it:

Passport — valid 6+ months from arrival, 2 blank pages, no damage
Visa or VOA — check your nationality on the official list; buy the VOA online if you need one
Return or onward ticket — booked, in the same name
Accommodation — booked for the first night at minimum
Bali tourist levy — paid online, QR code saved to your phone or a screenshot
All Indonesia arrival card — submitted online, QR code saved
Insurance — not a legal requirement for most nationalities, but strongly worth having, since Indonesian hospitals do not bill foreign insurance directly and an emergency can run into serious money

Common mistakes that cost people time

Arriving with a passport that has less than six months left. This is the single most common refusal and it is not negotiable at the desk.
Doing the levy at the airport. It is possible, but you can skip the queue by paying online first.
Assuming the arrival card and the levy are the same thing. They are not, and having one does not cover the other.
Buying a VOA from a third-party site. Use the official portal. Resellers mark it up and there have been reports of travellers arriving with a VOA that does not exist.
Leaving the levy to the last day. Some operators and hotels ask for it, and the QR is easiest to have ready when you check in.
Forgetting the onward ticket. A one-way flight out of Bali with no return is the second most common reason for a question at the desk.

If you are travelling with children

Children need their own passport with the same six-month rule.
The levy is per person, so children have their own levy payment and their own QR code.
The arrival card covers the whole group if you enter the family details together — but each traveller still needs their own visa or visa-free eligibility.

A note on longer stays and on working

The 30-day visa-free and VOA routes are for tourism only. If you are working, doing business, studying or staying for months, you need a different visa category — and getting it through the tourist route is not legal. If your trip is longer than 60 days, plan the visa properly before you fly rather than at immigration.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a visa to go to Bali?

It depends on your nationality, not on your nationality of residence. Around 70 nationalities enter Bali visa-free for 30 days, about 60 more can buy a visa on arrival for 30 days, and everyone else needs an e-Visa arranged before travel. Check the official list rather than a forum answer.

What is the Bali tourist levy?

A one-time charge per person for entering Bali, separate from the visa, paid once per visit rather than per day. It is paid online through the official Bali provincial portal and produces a QR code you present on arrival. Residents and KITAS holders are exempt.

Do I need to pay the Bali tourist levy before I fly?

You can pay it on arrival, but paying online before you fly is the sensible option — it is faster, it gets you through arrivals quicker, and it means one less thing to stand in a queue for.

What is the All Indonesia arrival card?

An online immigration, customs and health declaration that all arriving travellers must submit before landing. It replaced the paper forms and produces a QR code. It is separate from both the visa and the Bali tourist levy, so you need three separate QR codes in total.

How long can I stay in Bali on a visa on arrival?

Thirty days, and it can be extended once for a further thirty days — sixty days in total. The visa-free route is 30 days. If you need longer than that, arrange the correct visa before you travel.

Can I get the visa on arrival at Bali airport?

Yes, the visa on arrival is issued at designated entry points, including Bali's airport. Buying it online in advance through the official portal instead gets you through immigration faster for the same visa.

What documents do I need at Bali immigration?

Your passport (valid six months or more from arrival, with blank pages), a return or onward ticket, proof of accommodation, and both QR codes — the arrival card and the levy voucher. Immigration may also ask to see proof of sufficient funds for your stay.

Is the Bali tourist levy refundable?

No, it is a one-time charge for entering Bali and it is not refundable. It is also not charged per day, so a longer stay is not more expensive to enter.

Can I pay the arrival card and levy with a card?

Yes, both official portals accept card payment, and the levy portal also offers bank transfer and e-wallet options. Do it before you fly rather than counting on airport connectivity.

Get the paperwork right before you fly

Tell us your nationality and your flight date, and we will confirm which entry steps apply to you and what to have ready for the airport desk. WhatsApp us at +62 851-7516-3718 — or book online.